Return to Wisdom

“How do we fall asleep right after putting our head on the pillow?” The question that I raised to Dr Rizal after attending his lecture on increasing brain performance.

Dr Rizal had previously worked as a Sleep Scientist in Canberra Sleep Laboratory, Principle Consultant Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, to name a few. In his 10 years of studying, working and living in Australia, extreme cases regarding mental health were also referred to him by the police.

And he replied, “… That’s why our Prophet asked us to read 3 Qul before sleeping. The advice looked like a religious routine, but the recitation has its own ‘rhythm’. It makes it easier for us to fall asleep….”

“And the same goes for the afternoon nap?”

“Yes, it is.”

While driving home after the talk, I did some review with my nephew whom I brought along with to the lecture. Dr Rizal also taught us that by repeating the information we have learned, the information will be absorbed easier by our brains.

“Taking afternoon nap for 27 minutes before Zuhr prayer increases our brain performance by 35%.” *Religious people called it Qailulah.

“Sleeping for 30 minutes before Fajr is equivalent to 3 hours of sleeping.” (We have to wake up for Tahajjud prayer prior to this short nap, after having a deep sleep from 11pm-2am)

I had once listened to an Islamic lecture saying that our Prophet woke up in the middle of the night for additional prayer, and he slept back and woke up before Fajr.

“Performing ablution before sleeping acts as hydrotherapy. We can get into deep sleep easier when our body temperature is decreased to 28c.”

There are many scientific researches that coincide with the Sunnah. Although we as a Muslim have learned the Sunnah, but we are not inclined to follow it. Sunnah is not just a Sunnah. Each of them has scientific explanations behind it. Only then I understood why our Prophet s.a.w emphasized in his last sermon:

“…I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah…”

“Wisdom is the ability to act appropriately in any given situation. The word ‘hikmah’, which is wisdom in English, is the word that the Quran uses for Sunnah. Because the Prophet s.a.w in his Sunnah, he always does the right thing. And in a few times when he didn’t do the right thing, and he was rebuked by Allah, he was actually doing the right thing, but it was not the best thing. And that’s why he always does the best thing. His censured from Allah s.w.t when he was rebuked in the Quran by Allah. It was because the Hikmah in that situation was to be speaking to the one that want to hear the message, and not the one who wasn’t interested in that message… “

“The Prophet, his taufiq from Allah, is that he was always Hakeem. [2:269]:The one that’s given wisdom is given the great good. [Al-Jumuah:2]: He’s the one who sent among the unlettered people, a Prophet, and he sent him to recite his verses, to purify them, and to teach the book and the wisdom. The hikmah.”

“Imam Syafi’e in his famous book about Usool Fiqh, said the hikmah is the sunnah. You can have knowledge, but knowing how to apply the knowledge is the wisdom. That’s the hikmah. And that’s the difference between those who might know the hukm of Allah as a text and those who know when the hukm of Allah is applicable. That’s wisdom.”